Incidence of Calcification of the Trochlear Apparatus in the Orbit

PURPOSE: To quantify the incidence of asymptomatic incidental trochlear calcifications and to describe their clinical features. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed orbital computed tomography (CT) scans of 216 patients to identify the presence of trochlear calcifications. We analyzed the prevalence, age distribution, and gender preponderance of trochlear calcifications. We also examined age-specific prevalence rates for trochlear calcifications, as well as their relationship to systemic disease. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 26.8 years. Trochlear calcifications were observed in 35 (16%) of the 216 patients, and 18 of the 35 patients had bilateral calcifications. The rate of trochlear calcification was higher in males; 32 (20.9%) of 153 male patients had trochlear calcifications, compared with 3 (4.8%) of 63 female patients. Age, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and thyroid disease were not significantly associated with the incidence of trochlear calcifications. CONCLUSIONS: Incidental asymptomatic orbital calcification is more commonly observed on CT images than we expected and occurs predominantly in male patients. Understanding this to be a relatively common, benign finding may help us to rule out foreign bodies and other pathologic conditions.

The Clinical Course of the Idiopathic Epiretinal Membrane After Surgery

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical course of visual acuity and foveal thickness in the idiopathic epiretinal membrane (ERM) after a vitrectomy with the use of triamcinolone. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 30 patients (30 eyes) with ERM that were treated by vitrectomy from 2004 to 2008. Visual acuity and foveal thickness from optical coherence tomography imaging was obtained preoperatively and at every postoperative follow-up visit. RESULTS: Visual acuity improved by two or more lines of vision in 30%, 50%, 60%, and 70%, and stayed the same within +/-1 line in 47%, 50%, 40%, and 30% at one month, three months, five months, and seven months after surgery. Twenty-three percents of the subjects deteriorated by two or more lines of vision within one month after surgery. None of the subjects had reduced vision three months after surgery. Foveal thickness decreased significantly after surgery. The mean thickness was 409.7+/-107.9 microm before surgery and 288.6+/-66.1 microm seven months after surgery. Parameters which were significantly correlated with the final visual acuity included preoperative visual acuity (0.683), preoperative foveal thickness (0.544), and final foveal thickness (0.643) (p<0.005). CONCLUSIONS: Foveal thickness and visual acuity improved until seven months after the vitrectomy in patients with idiopathic ERM. Preoperative visual acuity, foveal thickness, and final foveal thickness had a significant correlation with the final visual acuity.